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21ft flat bottom The "Bucket"

21ft flat bottom The "Bucket"

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 01:50

by Flat Bottom

Alright everyone, my post has been up here for a while, So i'm updating the first post. Boat was found on craigslist in a small mountain town in Oregon where it had sat for about 20 years unused. The pictures and the rest of the thread will basically tell the story. As of today It is up and fishing regularly. Works great for what I do, and I am still looking to improve things as it moves along.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 07:41

by Jim

Welcome!

Thanks for joining!

That boat is a beast! I am looking forward to seeing the end result.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 09:35

by bobberboy

That's one sweet boat - I could fit both of mine inside it. Could you give a little more info about the boat, the dimensions, etc. Was it custom made by a boat manufacturer or in a shop like bassboy's? Pretty cool, and a jet boat too! You didn't put your location in, are you going to use this in salt water? Welcome and keep us up to date with the progress.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 13:02

by Flat Bottom

Thank you much, the boat was made by a company that doesn't exist any more, semco manufacturing, from what i understand they were a working solutions company. So if you needed something to make your job easier they would attempt to make it... but i'm not absolutely sure. the boat is 21.09 ft long, the inside floor has a width of about 66" transom and wall height are about 22" give or take a little. I'm not sure about the weight yet... but it's pretty heavy. those are the only measurements i have on me right now. on both sides of the boat there appears to be air ballasts that run almost the full length of the boat. I'm still discovering things about this boat, there are some weird design features. When i did have it on the water earlier this year for fishing and duck hunting, i had the old suzuki running pretty darn good, and had it up to 34 mph, according to a gps unit.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 13:50

by jasper60103

Mann, that things a mile long. I bet it's fun to drive and handles big water nicely.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 13:53

by Flat Bottom

haha, yeah it handles rough water like a champ. one of my very first initial test runs was in 3-4 foot rolling swells on the mighty columbia river, it didn't even faze it. I have taken it crabbing and broke the bar with it out of newport oregon. It does very well, not quite an offshore setup haha... but handles very nicely. i wish that i had enough money to put a jet in this thing, that would be sweet, however i'm going to stick with outboards, and with this suzuki for now... it has issues but i feel like i owe it to the engine to see it through till death... it sat in horrible conditions for nearly 20 years and then fired right up... come on haha. here are a few pics of the old motor setup, a makeshift jackplate that didn't work much at all... the boat has a little makeshift duck blind on it, so that's what all the burlap is.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 14:05

by Zum

The "hump" in your boat would be some type of tunnel hull design.
It's so you can raise your outboard way high on the transom so you can miss some rocks.
Is the trim/tilt on your outboard?
Most tunnel hull boats lose around 3-5mph on top end...thats what I have been reading anyways.
Nice boat,be watching what you do 4sure.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 09 Jan 2011, 14:12

by Flat Bottom

A tunnel hull was one of my thoughts, they didn't do it very well if it is. Either way, it took alot of room out of the inside, and didn't do much favors for the boat on the water so... it's out now, just gotta order aluminum and wait till it quits snowing to start the new bottom project

Here are a few basic simple drawings of some of my brainstorming idea's thus far

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 10 Jan 2011, 18:09

by Flat Bottom

Here are a few pics of the outboard suzuki dt140

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 11 Jan 2011, 12:45

by benjineer

Nice boat. Tunnel hulls are very popular on the gulf coast where you have a lot of shallow flats. They are best used in combination with a hydraulic jackplate. You only jack it up high when you need to run shallow. It hurts me to see that big hole cut out. You may wish you had left it alone if you ever find yourself in some very shallow water. Keep an eye on those Nauticus Smart Tabs on the back. If one of the cylinders locks up (as mine did), it will steer you to one side. Also, be careful backing up around stumps, rocks, etc. Plastic is too easy to break, and you can't easily raise them like you can real tabs (hydraulic or electric). I gave up and removed mine. They helped plane my boat when I had a prop that was really too much for it. I got a lower pitched prop and I'm much happier with it now. Good luck with it!

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 11 Jan 2011, 13:36

by Flat Bottom

yeah, I understand what you are saying, however i didn't remove it just because i didn't like it, whoever put it in, did a poor job fabricating, it wasn't a very safe set up at all. It was kind of like someone just plastered layer on layer. It leaked, and the boat is pretty heavy, needing all the flat in the back it can to reliably plane. I still have the piece that i cut out if you want it haha and i hear you on the trim tabs, i don't really like them, i'm hoping after my mods i may not need them as much, but we will see.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 11 Jan 2011, 15:32

by benjineer

Ok, couldn't really tell from the pics although that extra stuff on the back looked weird. Apparently, it wasn't factory. Leaking is bad. Hope you get it straightened out.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 11 Jan 2011, 17:02

by Flat Bottom

Yeah, i can really see how that was the idea making it a tunnel hull kind of set up, however it was done very poorly, and the welds were clobbered on in a bad way. It should clean up alright, Just have alot of welding ahead of me when it warms up here.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 03 Feb 2011, 14:54

by Flat Bottom

Well here is a little bit of an update. The boat is still sitting with a huge chunk cut out of the bottom. Been waiting on weather to warm up a bit to start welding. Ive put a little bit of money into the motor, which has been a hard desicion for me, it's an 85 suzuki dt140 with it's share of issues, but it does run pretty good, and had good compression. I am just trying not to put more money into it than it is worth. New higher horse outboards aren't free haha But ive been having a good time in the freezing cold inside the shop tinkering with it. It wasn't charging so i got a new stator (which was hard to find) but i got it for the right price just in time to figure out that wasn't the problem, so a new rectifier is on the way haha. But i do have some extra parts for this motor that way. Anyways, kind of a boring day here, thought i would report what little progress i have made.

Big flat bottom boat re-build

Posted: 05 Feb 2011, 20:20

by Flat Bottom

Ok, here's a little sketch that i've come up with, the proportions are probubly not exact. the boat is almost 22ft long, any idea's would be helpful on the locations of different things. I like this setup the best so far, however i have a question for those of you who may run your fuel tanks in the bow, or closer to the bow of your boats, espesialy those longer boats, do you have any problems getting the fuel to your motors? (ie poor motor performance do to distance fuel has to run in lines before it gets to the motor) thanks in advance.